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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23266246">Apple Farms and Missed Calls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceCreAMS/pseuds/MoominQuartz'>MoominQuartz (IceCreAMS)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fluff Bingo [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Gen, Growing Up, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, POV Steven Universe, POV Third Person Limited, Parent-Child Relationship, Road Trips, Running Away, Steven Universe Future</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:55:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,280</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23266246</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceCreAMS/pseuds/MoominQuartz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Connie has a great idea.</p><p>Set between the episodes "Growing Pains" and "Mr. Universe."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amethyst &amp; Garnet &amp; Pearl &amp; Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fluff Bingo [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655521</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>136</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Writing Squad Fluff Bingo</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Apple Farms and Missed Calls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/koffie/gifts">koffie</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the Fluff Bingo prompt "It Seemed Like a Good Idea At the Time" + Connverse. Thanks Ari, I had a blast!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s Connie’s idea. Which, really, only makes it seem like a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fantastic </span>
  </em>
  <span>idea, because she’s usually the one to talk him down from this kind of thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s run away,” she says with complete sincerity. “Let’s get on a bus and not look back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven turns to face her, startled. She isn’t looking at him. She is sitting on his balcony with a soft look on her face as she watches the moonrise, and he’s watering a few of his potted plants that he’s kept outside the greenhouse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Since the greenhouse… isn’t exactly the best place for him right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could go live on an apple farm. Just like you used to say.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I said that once.” He laughs, but Connie doesn’t join him. Her eyes close and she leans back against the wall of the house, her knees folded up to her chest and arms folded across them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the alternative?” Connie giggles, but it isn’t genuine. “Go to college a thousand miles away for something I’m not even sure I’ll like?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“…Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighs. “Oh, I don’t know what I’m saying. Never mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no, wait.” Steven’s heart skips a beat as he sets his elephant-shaped watering can down on the ground, and kneels next to her. It’s the first time he’s ever, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>heard her doubt college, and it’s so intensely relatable that he can hardly believe it’s coming from </span>
  <em>
    <span>her. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I thought you really wanted to go to Jayhawk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.” She hesitates. “I did? I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A frustrated groan tugs itself out of her throat, and she puts her head in her hands. “It just isn’t fair. Why am I being expected to decide something that will shape my entire </span>
  <em>
    <span>future? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Our </span>
  <em>
    <span>brains </span>
  </em>
  <span>aren’t even done developing, Steven! We’ve still got nearly a decade!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, well—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do I even know that the thing I really want to do, the thing I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>interested in right now, is going to be something I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>interested in? Or should I be going for a hobby, like art, something I really enjoy but I’m not necessarily good at, but that’s an extremely competitive field, and…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mom </span>
  </em>
  <span>thinks I should be preparing for grad school already, like I have any idea how that could benefit me. I just… want to get away from all of it for a bit. Get a breather. Not have anyone breathing down my neck about something I haven’t even had </span>
  <em>
    <span>time </span>
  </em>
  <span>to think about, because I’ve been too busy with </span>
  <em>
    <span>school!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie gives a great sigh, leaning her cheek into her hand as she stares up at the moon overheard. “An apple farm has never sounded better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s getting late. The gems won’t be home for another day or two, if they’ll even notice he’s gone with how busy they’ve been. And Connie, in this lighting, has never looked so beautiful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then, he thinks that every time he sees her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blinks. She looks at him with confusion written all over her face. “What exactly are you ‘okay’-ing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, let’s run away.” The look on her face is eerily close to the time he proposed, so very quickly, he adds, “Not forever. Not even all the way to an apple farm, if you don’t want. But just for a night or two, maybe. Let’s go pretend none of that stuff exists.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mom’ll have my head.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That gets a bark of laughter out of her. She shakes her head… and then she grins. “Okay. Let’s go be rebellious teenagers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven giggles. “Can’t be rebellious if no one told us </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooh, I like the way you think, mister.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She takes her hand in his, and they both laugh. Steven pulls out his phone and turns his location off.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This is a far better idea in theory than it is on paper.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Rather than take the bus, they pile into Steven’s car. Steven grabs a few things to keep them overnight — mostly just a change of clothes, his toothbrush, only the basics. They swing by Connie’s house, where Steven grabs her and floats up to her window so she can grab what she needs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’re like ninjas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His heart’s thudding in his chest, anticipation rising. The last time they did something like this, it had been over in an instant. Alexandrite chased down the bus and forced them out, and he’d lost his TV privilege for one thousand years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hard to believe it’s been three years since then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now, no giant woman pursues them. They drive out of the city, radio on, Connie gazing at the scenery with an expression between adoration and awe, and Steven’s heart softens at how the only other time he’s seen her with that look is when she looks at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s such a cheesy thought that he blushes, eyes back on the road immediately. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think there’s some campgrounds about an hour out,” Connie suggests, almost startling him. “Do you wanna stay there for the night?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Sure.” He grins. “Getting back to nature, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t been camping in so long.” Her voice is nostalgia colored in melancholy, and Steven knows she needs this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Camping it is, then.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>They do not have a tent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They lay down on the top of his car and watch the stars.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Connie murmurs, “I used to dream of being an astronaut. Of exploring planets in other solar systems, documenting everything, enjoying it maybe way too much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then everything happened.” Dread sinks into his stomach like lead, mouth drying, as he realizes what she means. “And… I don’t know. Maybe that’s not what I’m meant for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How would you know?” He swallows, unable to look at her. His gaze remains fixed on the cloudless night sky, as he struggles to withhold what he can already tell would be his pink glow. “What you’re meant for?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the silence that follows, Steven prays for what he isn’t meant for.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>They sleep in the car. Connie on the backseat, and Steven in the driver’s, pushing the back far enough for him to at least sleep at an incline. He drapes his jacket over Connie to use as a blanket when he thinks she’s out, but she opens her eyes and offers him a smile that devastates him.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The next morning, when they’re back on the road, they get just enough reception for Connie to see she’s missed eight calls and has three voicemails.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s the first time Steven’s heard Connie curse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it.” Steven smiles, hoping to assuage her fears. “This is about you right now. Not them. So we’ll only go back when you’re ready to go back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie bites her lip. “No, I must’ve really worried them. I can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>believe </span>
  </em>
  <span>I didn’t even text them to let them know what I was doing… I’m gonna call them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, don’t worry about it!” He laughs and hates how forced it sounds, for the look Connie sends him. He keeps his eyes on the road. “We could go another night. They’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven, they’re clearly </span>
  <em>
    <span>not—”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not like they’ve even noticed!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They clearly </span>
  <em>
    <span>have—” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Connie cuts herself off this time. She furrows her brow, and then she reaches for his phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, hey…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You haven’t had yours even </span>
  <em>
    <span>on.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She boots up his phone without asking him. “Steven, if you’re worried they won’t notice, you have to give them the chance to </span>
  <em>
    <span>show it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He bites his tongue. Connie presses a few buttons on his phone, and then there’s a voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You have one new message. First message:”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey, Schtu-ball.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>It’s Greg. The relief is so immediate and so intense that his eyes water and he doesn’t get why. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I don’t know what’s going on, but both you and Connie are missing, and the Dondai’s not here… I know things have been pretty rough lately, so. Call me when you can. I don’t want to push you, but I’m worried about you. I love you, kiddo.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“End of message.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven pulls over, pressing his wet, snotty face into the sleeve of his jacket, and Connie puts her arm around him and pulls him in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No messages from the gems, even though both Amethyst and Pearl have phones by this point. But it’s fine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe Garnet foresaw his return.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to go back yet,” he tells Connie. “Is that… okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Yeah.” It’s hesitant, but Connie gives a gentle sigh and rubs his back. “I’m gonna call my mom and explain what’s going on. But we don’t have to go back just yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The next night is spent at a run-down motel that Steven recognizes a little too well. They’re on the border of Delmarva and Keystone, and they spend the evening with their bare feet dipping into the swimming pool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you going to do if the gems don’t call you?” Connie asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven huffs. “I don’t know.” He doesn’t want to think about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s not even sure if he wants them to call at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well…” Connie’s fingers interlace with his. His heart skips a beat. “It’ll be nice to sleep in an actual bed tonight. You know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” He smiles. “I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her phone buzzes. Connie glances at it, the phone turned away so Steven couldn’t sneak a peek even if he’d wanted to. “Oh, it’s my mom.” She pulls her feet out of the water, sighing. “I’ll be right back. You stay here, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nods. Connie smiles and pulls her hand from his, grabs her shoes, and heads on back to the room with her phone pressed to her ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven groans and flops back against the pavement. What is he even </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing? </span>
  </em>
  <span>What point does this serve, to just… run away from all his problems? Why is he dragging Connie with him?</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s better to run away with someone else than to do it alone.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>No, Connie was the one who suggested it. It’s just that Steven’s the one prolonging it. He’s hijacked her journey, and he definitely shouldn’t have done that. He knows what that’s like.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe he should go home. Even if none of the gems have noticed he’s gone, maybe that’s for the best. If he goes back now, he won’t have to explain himself to them. Or maybe they’d ask where he’d been, he’d say he’d gone for a walk, and they’d just shrug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Connie’s parents had noticed right away when she didn’t come home.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Pink </span>
  </em>
  <span>explodes out of him, too bright, turning himself into a beacon in this poorly lit swimming pool in the middle of a poorly lit parking lot. He winces and struggles wildly for a moment to contain it—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then a sound interrupts him. There’s the screech and stench of burning rubber, a sudden brake, and then the sound of a door opening and slamming shut. He turns, anxiety spiking — pink refusing to disappear — and sees the Maheswarans’ car pulled up beside the pool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it isn’t the Maheswarans that are charging him right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“STEVEN!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Amethyst slams into him, knocking him </span>
  <em>
    <span>into </span>
  </em>
  <span>the chlorine pool water. Steven gasps as he surfaces, the water seeping through his organic jacket, but then Amethyst’s arms are gripping his shoulders, shaking him. “What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell, </span>
  </em>
  <span>man! What are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“H...huh?” At least she’s stuck in the water with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t just </span>
  <em>
    <span>leave </span>
  </em>
  <span>without any sort of notification,” Pearl says. Steven looks up to see both Pearl and Garnet standing on the pool’s edge, bizarre expressions on their face. He hasn’t seen anything like it before. Anger and… something else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>… Concern? Or is that just him hoping, projecting?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys could’ve called me,” Steven mutters as he moves to the edge of the pool, pulling himself out. “I would’ve answered.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you wouldn’t have.” Garnet’s voice is resolute, firm, unyielding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>might have!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he snaps. “You can’t just -- just </span>
  <em>
    <span>decide </span>
  </em>
  <span>that for me! I didn’t even know you guys were coming, I didn’t even know you guys </span>
  <em>
    <span>cared, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I…!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude.” Amethyst swims on over, hopping out of the pool right next to him. “Are you… okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven blinks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” He works his throat, but despite everything, he can’t find it in himself to articulate an answer. His eyes water, and he tries very, very hard not to let them see. “W...what are you even doing here? How’d you know I’d be here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pearl smiles, though it doesn’t quite seem genuine. “Your location was on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tries not to think about what that means.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon,” Amethyst beckons, grabbing his hand. “Let’s head home, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are in </span>
  <em>
    <span>big </span>
  </em>
  <span>trouble for just up and leaving us, young man.” Pearl’s voice is stern, hard. “Connie’s going to go home with her parents, while </span>
  <em>
    <span>we </span>
  </em>
  <span>are going to walk to the nearest warp pad. All four of us. And we’re taking away your TV privileges again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t even really watch TV anymore,” Steven mutters in resignation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hasn’t done anything he likes to do in a long time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-well… We’ll…” Pearl blushes, flustered, and quickly tries to recover. “Well, we’ll find something to take away from you! You can’t just do whatever you want!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, the anger builds in him again. What are they even </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Are they trying to — to </span>
  <em>
    <span>discipline </span>
  </em>
  <span>him? After years and </span>
  <em>
    <span>years </span>
  </em>
  <span>of letting him solve their problems for them, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now </span>
  </em>
  <span>they’re trying to do parenting right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>… Oh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’re trying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You ready?” Garnet asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes water again, and somehow, slowly, his pink glow fades. “Yeah,” he murmurs, exhausted. “Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s been ready for this for a long time.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Listen... I just need Steven to know his family loves him and is trying their best, even if they've failed him before, okay?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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